V-J Day - World War II - HISTORY.com Google From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan’s devastating surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii , on December 7, 1941, capped a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States and led to an immediate U.S. declaration of war the following day. Japan’s ally Germany, led by Adolf Hitler , then declared war on the United States, turning the war raging in Europe into a truly global conflict. Over the next three years, superior technology and productivity allowed the Allies to wage an increasingly one-sided war against Japan in the Pacific, inflicting enormous casualties while suffering relatively few. By 1945, in an attempt to break Japanese resistance before a land invasion became necessary, the Allies were consistently bombarding Japan from air and sea, dropping some 100,000 tons of explosives on more than 60 Japanese cities and towns between March and July 1945 alone. Did You Know? Rhode Island is the only state with a holiday dedicated to V-J Day (its official name is Victory Day); it is celebrated on the second Monday in August.

V-J Day parades are held in several other locations across the United States, including Seymour, Indiana; Moosup, Connecticut; and Arma, Kansas. The Potsdam Declaration, issued by Allied leaders on July 26, 1945, called on Japan to surrender; if it did, it was promised a peaceful government according to “the freely expressed will of the Japanese people.” If it did not, it would face “prompt and utter destruction.” The embattled Japanese government in Tokyo refused to surrender, and on August 6 the American B-29 plane Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people and destroying a 5-square-mile expanse of the city. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. The following day, the Japanese government issued a statement accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

In a radio address in the early afternoon of August 15 (August 14 in the United States), Emperor Hirohito urged his people to accept the surrender, blaming the use of the “new and most cruel bomb” on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the country’s defeat. “Should we continue to fight,” Hirohito declared, “it would not only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation but would also lead to the total extinction of human civilization.” Reaction to Japanese Surrender In Washington on August 14, President Harry S. Truman announced news of Japan’s surrender in a press conference at the White House : “This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor.

This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would.” Jubilant Americans declared August 14 “Victory over Japan Day,” or “V-J Day.” (May 8, 1945–when the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s official surrender–had previously been dubbed “Victory in Europe Day,” or “V-E Day.”) Images from V-J Day celebrations around the United States and the world reflected the overwhelming sense of relief and exhilaration felt by citizens of Allied nations at the end of the long and bloody conflict. In one particularly iconic photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine, a uniformed sailor passionately kisses a nurse in the midst of a crowd of people celebrating in New York City’s Times Square. On September 2, Allied supreme commander General Douglas MacArthur , along with the Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, and the chief of staff of the Japanese army, Yoshijiro Umezu, signed the official Japanese surrender aboard the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri , effectively ending World War II .

V-J Day over the Years Many V-J Day celebrations fell out of favor over the years due to concerns about their being offensive to Japan, now one of America’s closest allies, and to Japanese Americans, as well as ambivalent feelings toward the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the administration of President Bill Clinton referred not to V-J Day but to the “End of the Pacific War” in its official remembrance ceremonies. The controversial decision sparked complaints that Clinton was being overly deferential to Japan and that the euphemism displayed insensitivity to U.S. veterans who as prisoners of war suffered greatly at the hands of Japanese forces. Tags Widgets Magazine 1 94980 China celebrates on Wednesday the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in the Second World War, when the Soviet Union came to Beijing’s aide on the eastern front. © REUTERS/ Issei Kato 70th Anniversary of Japan's Surrender in World War II MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The announcement of Japan's surrender was made on August 15, 1945.

The signing of a surrender document and a formal surrender ceremony occurred on September 2, officially ending the Second World War. China, which suffered from Japanese militarism from as early as 1931, when the Imperial Japanese Army occupied the northeast region of Manchuria, will hold a number of events on September 2-3, commemorating the anniversary of Japan's surrender. A major military parade will be held on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, with delegates from a total of 30 countries, including Russia, expected to attend. In Russia, September 2 is celebrated as the Commemorative Day of Ending World War II in honor of the memory of Russian compatriots who fought in the war. © Sputnik/ Michael Klimentyev On the day of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, President Vladimir Putin, third from right, takes part in a wreath-laying ceremony by the Trans-Baikal Residents' Military and Labour Glory memorial.

On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union officially joined the 1945 Potsdam declaration, a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces in World War II, in line with the decisions made at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, and formally declared war on Japan. © REUTERS/ Toru Hanai Japan's Abe to Skip Beijing World War II Parade Prior to the USSR’s entry into the war against Japan, the United States had used nuclear weapons for the first time in history, dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9. During the final stages of World War II, the Red Army conducted the Manchurian offensive from August 9 to September 2, in order to defeat Japan’s Kwantung Army, liberate the northern and northeastern Chinese provinces Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, the Liaotung Peninsula, Korea, and eliminate a bridgehead of Japanese aggression on the Asian continent and the country’s major regional military and economic potential. On August 10, Mongolia joined the war against Japan.

Soviet warplanes bombed the enemy’s military installations in Harbin, Changchun and Jilin, as well as troop formations, communications networks and lines of communication near the Soviet border. The Pacific Fleet sailed into the Sea of Japan, cut shipping lanes linking Korea and Manchuria with Japan, with its warplanes and ships hit Japanese naval bases in Yuki, Rashin and Seishin. © Sputnik/ Vladimir Grebnev Units from the Trans-Baikal Front crossed arid deserts and steppes and the Greater Khingan Range to defeat the enemy in the Kalgan, Solun and Hailar regions. On August 18-19, they approached Manchuria’s major industrial and administrative centers. On August 18-27, Soviet paratroopers landed in Harbin, Jilin, Changchun, Mukden, Port Arthur, Pyongyang and other cities. On August 19, Japanese forces began surrendering en masse. With the defeat of the Kwantung Army and the loss of its military and economic potential in northeastern China and North Korea, Japan was no longer able to continue the war.

On September 2, 1945, Japan’s then-Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, acting as a representative of the Emperor and Government of Japan, and General Yoshijiro Umezu, then chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff, signed the instrument of Japan’s unconditional surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay at 9:04 a.m. Tokyo time (00:00 GMT). © AP Photo/ Pool/Life Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs Japanese Instrument of Surrender, a document signed on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan on Sept. 2 1945. On behalf of all the Allied Powers at war with Japan, the document was signed by US Gen. Douglas MacArthur. On behalf of member countries it was singed by Adm. Chester Nimitz from the United States, Lt. Gen. Kuzma Derevyanko from the Soviet Union, British Adm. Bruce Fraser and Gen. Xu Yongchang from China. Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs the Japanese surrender documents, September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

© AP Photo/ Admiral Chester Nimitz, representing the United States, signs the instrument of surrender. © Wikipedia/ Commonwealth of Australia Lieutenant-General Derevyanko representing Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signs the instrument of surrender. © Wikipedia/ Commonwealth of Australia Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, commanding British Pacific fleet, signs the instrument of surrender on behalf of the United Kingdom. © Wikipedia/ General Hsu Yung-Chang, representing Republic of China, signs the instrument of surrender. © Wikipedia/ Commonwealth of Australia Putin en Route to China for WWII Parade, Signing Some 30 Bilateral Treaties Under the Potsdam Declaration, the sovereignty of Japan was restricted to the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido, as well as the smaller islands of the Japanese archipelago, as stipulated by the Allies. The islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai were ceded to the USSR. The Far Eastern Commission and the Allied Council for Japan were established by a decision of the 1945 Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom to monitor the implementation of the terms of the unconditional surrender.

The World War II lasted six years, from September 1, 1939 through September 2, 1945, and involved 61 states with population of 1.7 billion. Hostilities raged in 40 countries. The World War II was the bloodiest and most destructive conflict in history, killing over 55 million people. The Soviet Union suffered most of all, with 27 million war fatalities. ... 1000+ images about WW II Japan Surrender and Aftermath on Pinterest | Crime, The end and Missouri Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas WW II Japan Surrender and Aftermath Japan surrendered in 1945 following the dropping of atomic bombs and imminent invasion by the Americans and Russians. After a failed coup d'état, Emperor Hirohito ordered the Supreme Council to accept the Allies terms and broadcast the surrender on August 15. The surrender ceremony was held on September 2 aboard the USS Missouri. The state of war between Japan and the Allies formally ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952 and with the Soviet Union in 1956.

50 Pins30.9k Followers Reading native was witness to history | Reading Eagle - NEWS News News Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy | Robert Sauppee of Muhlenberg Township served aboard the USS Missouri and was present at the Japanese surrender aboard the ship in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945. XGL CRB | Japanese signatories are shown arriving on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, to participate in surrender ceremonies. They included Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, front row left, who signed on behalf of the Emperor; and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu, front right, who signed on behalf of the Imperial Japanese General Headquarters. Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy | Robert Sauppee of Muhlenberg Township served aboard the USS Missouri and was present at the Japanese surrender aboard the ship in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945. Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy | U.S. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signing surrender documents at the shipboard ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay.

Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy | Robert Sauppee of Muhlenberg Township served aboard the USS Missouri and was present at the Japanese surrender aboard the ship in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945. Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy | The USS Missouri, where the Japanese government signed the surrender documents on Sept. 2, ending the Second World War. Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy | Robert Sauppee of Muhlenberg Township served aboard the USS Missouri and was present at the Japanese surrender aboard the ship in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945. XCB | Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs the Japanese surrender documents on, September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Standing behind him are Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, left foreground, who surrendered Bataan to the Japanese, and British Lt. Gen. A. E. Percival, next to Wainwright, who surrendered Singapore, as they witness with other American and British officers the ceremony marking the end of World War II.

Reading native was witness to history Wednesday September 2, 2015 12:01 AM By Ron Devlin Muhlenberg Township, Pa. Ordinarily, Navy Petty Officer J. Robert Sauppee would have been assigned to duty on the starboard side of the USS Missouri. But Sept. 2, 1945, was no ordinary day, especially on board the "Mighty Mo," as the World War II battleship was known. "I was assigned to escort reporters and camera crews to gun turret No. 2 on the port side," recalls Sauppee, 88, of Muhlenberg Township. "I was ordered to return to the starboard side, but there was no way I was going to follow that order." That's how a 19-year-old graduate of Reading Central Catholic got to witness one of the most historic moments in 20th century history - the formal surrender of Japan on what President Harry S Truman dubbed "V-J Day," or Victory Over Japan. Shortly after 9 a.m. Tokyo time, on the deck of the Missouri, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese government. Gen.

Yoshijiro Umezu then signed for the Japanese armed forces, his aides weeping as he wrote his signature. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, supreme Allied commander, signed on behalf of the Allied powers, adding, "It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past." With that declaration, World War II officially ended 70 years ago today. "Everything was somber," recalls Sauppee, who witnessed the ceremony from gun turret No. 2, less than 50 yards from the dignitaries. "Nobody cheered or yelled." From his perch, Sauppee had a birds-eye view of the armada of ships gathered in Tokyo Harbor. The Missouri was flanked by the battleships Iowa and South Dakota, and the British ships Duke of York and King George V. Led by 45 B-29 Superfortresses, hundreds of carrier planes from the U.S. Third Fleet flew overhead in perfect formation. The photographers Sauppee escorted snapped some of the most well-known images of World War II.

Sauppee has a copy of one of the photos in a scrapbook he's kept for seven decades. He penciled in the names of MacArthur, (Admiral Chester) Nimitz and (Admiral William "Bull") Halsey. Gen. Carl "Tooey" Spaatz of Boyertown, then commanding general of the Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater, was also aboard the ship during the signing ceremony. After the war, Truman would appoint Spaatz the first chief of staff of the Air Force. Sauppee was not the only Reading native aboard the Mighty Mo during the signing ceremony. The late Paul Flamm also was aboard. In November 1944, before he completed his senior year at Central, Sauppee enlisted in the Navy. His brother, James Sauppee, accepted his diploma in June 1945. Assigned to a unit that controlled the firing of the Missouri's 16-inch guns, Sauppee had been aboard the Missouri about six months when the signing took place. "I witnessed three kamikaze attacks," he recalls.

"One rammed into a turret but did little damage." The kamikaze pilot was about 15 years old, Sauppee said, reflecting Japan's desperation in the final stages of the war. Donna Speece of Exeter Township expressed pride in her father's service and incredible brush with history. "He's an inspiration to us," said Speece, a retired office worker. "He lights up when he talks about the USS Missouri." Sauppee has a collection of books, photographs and commemorative hats from reunions he's attended over the years. He received a formal invitation to the nation's official observance of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, to be held today at the USS Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The Missouri is a ship's length away from the wreckage of the USS Arizona, which was sunk during the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Sauppee, who's been to the Missouri monument, does not plan to attend the 70th anniversary ceremony. Still, he's proud that his country was thoughtful enough to invite him. And, he takes solace in the words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur printed on the invitation.

Ttitled "When Hope For An Enduring Peace Once Again Seemed Possible in the World," MacArthur speaks of "a world founded in faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish - for freedom, tolerance and justice." Contact Ron Devlin: 610-371-5030 or rdevlin@readingeagle.com. Ron Devlin | Reporter/columnist Japan surrenders - Sep 02, 1945 - HISTORY.com Japan surrenders Publisher A+E Networks Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II. By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home islands. U.S.

General Douglas MacArthur was put in charge of the invasion, which was code-named “Operation Olympic” and set for November 1945. The invasion of Japan promised to be the bloodiest seaborne attack of all time, conceivably 10 times as costly as the Normandy invasion in terms of Allied casualties. On July 16, a new option became available when the United States secretly detonated the world’s first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. Ten days later, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration, demanding the “unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces.” Failure to comply would mean “the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitable the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.” On July 28, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki responded by telling the press that his government was “paying no attention” to the Allied ultimatum. U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the devastation to proceed, and on August 6, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people and fatally wounding thousands more.

After the Hiroshima attack, a faction of Japan’s supreme war council favored acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, but the majority resisted unconditional surrender. On August 8, Japan’s desperate situation took another turn for the worse when the USSR declared war against Japan. The next day, Soviet forces attacked in Manchuria, rapidly overwhelming Japanese positions there, and a second U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese coastal city of Nagasaki. Just before midnight on August 9, Japanese Emperor Hirohito convened the supreme war council. After a long, emotional debate, he backed a proposal by Prime Minister Suzuki in which Japan would accept the Potsdam Declaration “with the understanding that said Declaration does not compromise any demand that prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as the sovereign ruler.” The council obeyed Hirohito’s acceptance of peace, and on August 10 the message was relayed to the United States.

Early on August 12, the United States answered that “the authority of the emperor and the Japanese government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.” After two days of debate about what this statement implied, Emperor Hirohito brushed the nuances in the text aside and declared that peace was preferable to destruction. He ordered the Japanese government to prepare a text accepting surrender. In the early hours of August 15, a military coup was attempted by a faction led by Major Kenji Hatanaka. The rebels seized control of the imperial palace and burned Prime Minister Suzuki’s residence, but shortly after dawn the coup was crushed. At noon that day, Emperor Hirohito went on national radio for the first time to announce the Japanese surrender. In his unfamiliar court language, he told his subjects, “we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable.” The United States immediately accepted Japan’s surrender. President Truman appointed MacArthur to head the Allied occupation of Japan as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.

For the site of Japan’s formal surrender, Truman chose the USS Missouri, a battleship that had seen considerable action in the Pacific and was named after Truman’s native state. MacArthur, instructed to preside over the surrender, held off the ceremony until September 2 in order to allow time for representatives of all the major Allied powers to arrive. On Sunday, September 2, more than 250 Allied warships lay at anchor in Tokyo Bay. The flags of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and China fluttered above the deck of the Missouri. Just after 9 a.m. Tokyo time, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on behalf of the Japanese government. General Yoshijiro Umezu then signed for the Japanese armed forces, and his aides wept as he made his signature. Supreme Commander MacArthur next signed on behalf of the United Nations, declaring, “It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past.” Ten more signatures were made, by the United States, China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, respectively.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed for the United States. As the 20-minute ceremony ended, the sun burst through low-hanging clouds. The most devastating war in human history was over. Related Videos World War 2 Surrender Collection - USS Missouri Surrender Ceremony 1945 World War 2 Surrender Collection November 17, 2015 World War 2 Surrender Collection Recognized! Today, September 2, 2013, 68 years after the surrender ceremony with Japan, our World War 2 Collection was featured on the front page of the Las Vegas Review Journal! What an exciting day! Our family is extremely honored and proud of the items on display at the USS Missouri! November 17, 2015 Nearly 68 years ago, World War 2 officially ended when the Japanese signed the peace treaty (September 2, 1945).

My family and I travelled this past week 08/06/2013 to the USS Missouri bringing a large collection of World War 2 Items to be put on display at the museum for the aniversary of the Peace December 22, 2015 The following rare picture I believe is autographed by the famous actor Richard Clayton. Richard Clayton joined the Navy during World War 2. I also have another photo with my grandfather having dinner with Richard Clayton. (Will post this picture later). Can someone please help identify who this man is in this picture? Please August 17, 2015 The following USS Missouri Surrender Photos are original black and white photos taken on board the USS Missouri during the Surrender of the Japanese on September 2, 1945. These photos belong to my family. When we took the photos to be displayed on the USS Missouri (2013); curator Mike Weidenbach stated, "I've never seen these January 18, 2012 FLAG ALLOWANCE ORDERS. Subject: Flag Allowance General Quarters and Dispersion Bill. 1.

When general quarters or torpedo defense quarters are sounded for other thean drill, or test purposes or morning and evening alert, men of the THIRD Fleet Flag allowance will proceed to the stations assigned them as follows: (a) Flag Plot Carr, Y 2/c.Merlar, April 21, 2015 The following US 48 Star flag was present on board the US Missouri during the Japanese Surrender at Tokyo Bay, Japan on September 2, 1945. This flag was in Admiral Halsey's office and was believed to be mounted on the wall in the Admiral's office. My grandfather was on Admiral Halsey's staff and was the Coxswain April 21, 2015 The following pictures show Admiral Halsey's 4 Star Flag in detail which was his personal flag during the Peace Treaty Signing for World War II on September 2, 1945. The flag was present during the Peace Treaty Signing to end World War II. > Welcome Thank you for visiting our website. This website showcases an amazing World War 2 Collection of items that were present on the USS Missouri during the Surrender Ceremony. All of these items are owned by our family.

Our family is very proud of our father and grandfather who worked under Admiral Halsey. Most of these items were brought back to the USS Missouri and put back on display for the 72 anniversary of the Surrender Ceremony. Feel free to browse your website! Categories Mamoru Shigemitsu | the Japanese | ZoomInfo.com Web References (58 Total References) Japanese [cached] Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the surrender document 70 years ago blasts with many more over the following years from sicknesses describing the experience of picking up Japanese [cached] Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, officially bringing World War II to an end. Overseeing the surrender is U.S. Gen. Douglas McArthur (right, back to camera). Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, officially bringing World War II to an end. Overseeing the surrender is U.S. Gen. Douglas McArthur (right, back to camera).

... Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, officially bringing World War II to an end. Theo Caldwell | ProudToBeCanadian [cached] On September 2, 1945, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu boarded the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and signed the Instrument of Surrender in front of American General Douglas MacArthur. By November 1956 - only fifteen ... nautilus.org [cached] By November 1956 - only fifteen months after Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu promised the Diet in June 1955 that the United States did not have nuclear weapons stored in Japan and did not plan to do so in the future without the approval of the Japanese government - 13 separate U.S.

military facilities in Japan had nuclear weapons or components stored, or were earmarked to receive nuclear weapons in times of crisis or war.Foreign Minister Shigemitsu's promise was based on an "understanding" he World War II Fast Facts - CNN.com World War II Fast Facts CNN Library Updated 1:08 PM ET, Fri August 19, 2016 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: World War II in pictures German troops march through occupied Warsaw, Poland, after invading the nation on September 1, 1939, and igniting World War II. Hide Caption 1 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures German Chancellor Adolf Hitler speaks to Nazi party officials in 1939, the year of the German blitzkrieg into Poland. Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium soon fell under German control. When France came under occupation less than a year later, Britain was the only remaining Western European nation fighting the Third Reich, and the United States had not yet entered the war.

Hide Caption 2 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures In Asia, Japanese troops occupy a strategic point on Chusan Island on July 14,1939, during the Sino-Japanese War. Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in 1940, formally allying with Germany and Italy, and by 1942 most of the Asian Pacific Rim had come under its domination. Hide Caption 3 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures German soldiers on the Esplanade du Trocadero view the Eiffel Tower. In June 1940, German troops marched into Paris, forcing France to capitulate and establish the pro-Axis Vichy French government. Hide Caption 4 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures British Hawker Hurricanes fly in formation during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The planes were a first line of defense against German bombers attacking England. The battle, fought between July 10 and October 31, 1940, was the first major battle to be won in the air. The Royal Air Force's victory thwarted Hitler's plans for invading Britain.

Hide Caption 5 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Smoke rises behind Tower Bridge during the first mass daylight bombing of London on September 7, 1940. Hide Caption 6 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, left, with Hitler, center, and other leading Nazis, visits Germany during the war. Italy and Germany formed an alliance before the outbreak of war, but Italy remained a non-belligerent until June 10, 1940, when it declared war on Britain and France. Fighting spread to Greece and North Africa. Hide Caption 7 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures German tanks and infantry attack Soviet positions on the Eastern Front. On June 22, 1941, Germany broke its Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union, launching the bloodiest theater of the war. Though the estimates vary greatly, Russia suffered the most war casualties of any nation in World War II -- as many as 13.8 million military deaths. Estimates of civilian deaths from military action, crimes against humanity, starvation and disease are as high as 9 million.

Hide Caption 8 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures A view of U.S. ships in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. The USS West Virginia and USS Tennessee are in the foreground. The attack destroyed more than half the fleet of aircraft and damaged or destroyed eight battleships. Japan also attacked Clark and Iba airfields in the Philippines, destroying more than half the U.S. Army's aircraft there. Hide Caption 9 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941. Italy and Germany immediately declared war on the United States, and on December 11, Roosevelt signed the U.S. declarations of war against those nations. Hide Caption Photos: World War II in pictures British prisoners of war leave Hong Kong for a Japanese prison camp in December 1941. Hide Caption 11 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Anti-aircraft fire glows over Algiers during a night raid on November 23, 1942.

In 1942, the Allies stopped the Axis advance in North Africa and the Soviet Union. Hide Caption 12 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Black smoke rises from demolished buildings after Japanese air forces attacked the U.S. Navy base on Midway Atoll during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The four-day battle became a major victory for the U.S. Navy, which sunk four Japanese aircraft carriers, and it marked a turning point in the war in the Pacific. Hide Caption 13 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Balloon operators from Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force, or WAAF, report for inspection in a hangar used to store balloons, at a facility in the UK. During World War II, women played a significant role in the war effort. They took jobs in "defense plants and volunteered for war-related organizations, in addition to managing their households," according to the World War II museum in New Orleans. Hide Caption 14 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures British troops land near Algiers, Algeria, during Operation Torch in November 1942.

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of Vichy-held French North Africa, and marked the first major action by the Western allies against the German army. Hide Caption 15 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Soviet soldiers advance against the German army during the Battle of Stalingrad. The battle for the city on the Volga River (present-day Volgograd) was a major defeat for Germany and a turning point in the war. The battle lasted more than five months, ending in February 1943, at the cost of at least 160,000 German soldiers killed or captured. However, even conservative estimates of Russian casualties are much higher. Hide Caption 16 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures German prisoners captured at the beachhead of Anzio, Italy, leave a landing craft on their way to a prison camp in 1944. The amphibious landing and ensuing battle helped Allied forces break a months-long stalemate south of Rome and ultimately defeat the Germans in Italy. Hide Caption 17 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures French refugees live in a quarry near Fleury sur Orne.

During the bombing in that area, 20,000 refugees lived in the quarries. Hide Caption 18 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures U.S. troops assault Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. On D-Day, Allied forces landed on five beaches -- Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword -- taking the first step in establishing the Western Front in Europe. The landing included more than 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes and 150,000 soldiers. More than 35,000 Allied troops were killed during the Normandy Campaign, which lasted till the end of August 1944. Hide Caption 19 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures A crowd gathers to cheer Gen. Charles de Gaulle at the Place de la Concorde on August 26, 1944, a day after the liberation of Paris.

Hide Caption 20 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Soldiers of an infantry division move into the mist over a snow-covered field near Krinkelter, Belgium, on December 20, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, a surprise German counter-offensive against Allied forces as they closed in on German soil from the west. It resulted in more combined U.S. losses (nearly 90,000 killed, wounded or captured) than any battle of the war. Hide Caption 21 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945. Strategically located only 660 miles from Tokyo, the Pacific island was essential to launching land-based bombers against Japan. It was the bloodiest battle in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps, which suffered more than 27,000 casualties. Of some 18,000 Japanese soldiers defending the island, 216 survived.

Hide Caption 22 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures German prisoners captured at Friedrichsfeld march through a town in Germany after the crossing of the Rhine River by the U.S. 9th Army on March 26, 1945. Hide Caption 23 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures From left, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Russian Premier Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference on February 1945. Hide Caption 24 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Prisoners line block 61 of Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945. The construction of Buchenwald started July 15, 1937, and the camp was liberated by U.S. Gen. George Patton's troops on April 11, 1945. Between 239,000 and 250,000 people were imprisoned in the camp. About 56,000 died, including 11,000 Jews.

Hide Caption 25 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures President Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral procession goes down Connecticut Avenue on its way to the White House. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia, just weeks before Germany's surrender. Hide Caption 26 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Harry S. Truman takes the oath of office on April 12, 1945, as he becomes the 33rd president of the United States. Standing beside him are his wife, Bess, and daughter Margaret. Hide Caption 27 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures The bodies of Benito Mussolini, left, and his mistress, Clara Petacci, second from left, hang from the roof of a gasoline station after they were shot by anti-Fascist forces while attempting to escape to Switzerland on April 28, 1945. Hide Caption 28 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Russian soldiers wave their flag, made from tablecloths, over the ruins of the Reichstag in Berlin on April 30, 1945.

That day, as the Soviets were within blocks of his bunker at the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Hide Caption 29 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses the celebrating crowds from the balcony of the Ministry of Health in Whitehall, London, on V-E Day, May 8, 1945. The war in Europe was officially over. Hide Caption 30 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Soldiers rush an injured U.S. Marine from a battlefield during the Battle of Okinawa in June 1945. The battle, the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific, raged for nearly three months and heightened U.S. concerns for the enormous casualties that could be anticipated in the planned invasion of Japan's main islands. Hide Caption 31 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures A photograph on display at the Bradbury Science Museum shows the first instant of the first atomic bomb test, on July 16, 1945, at 5:29 a.m. at Trinity Site in New Mexico.

The Potsdam Declaration, announced 10 days later, called for Japan's unconditional surrender, threatening "prompt and utter destruction." It did not, however, specifically mention the bomb. Hide Caption 32 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., center, stands with the ground crew of the B-29 bomber "Enola Gay," which Tibbets piloted on August 6, 1945. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, that day killed an estimated 130,000 people. Hide Caption 34 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures A patient suffering severe radiation burns lies in the Hiroshima Red Cross hospital in August 1945. Many of those who survived the initial blast on August 6 died of severe radiation-related injuries and illnesses. Hide Caption 35 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures A dense column of smoke rises more than 60,000 feet into the air over Nagasaki, the result of an atomic bomb dropped on August 9, 1945.

An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 were killed in the Nagasaki blast. Six days later, a little after noon local time on August 15, Emperor Hirohito's announcement that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration was broadcast on radio. Japan had surrendered. Hide Caption 36 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures A jubilant American sailor kisses a nurse in New York's Times Square on August 14, 1945, as he celebrates the news that Japan has surrendered. (Because of the time difference between the two nations, the surrender occurred August 15 in Japan). Hide Caption 37 of 38 Photos: World War II in pictures Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, officially bringing World War II to an end. Overseeing the surrender is U.S. Gen. Douglas McArthur (right, back to camera). Hide Caption

Question: On Sept 2, 1945, the Instrument of Surrender was signed by the Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, officially ending World War II, aboard what US battleship moored in Tokyo Bay?
Answer: USS Missouri